Your Body Within 1 Hour of Drinking Soda

I have to admit, as a former teacher, I used to cringe when I saw the amount of soda my students could put away in a day. We may as well have installed a soda fountain instead of the water fountain. Later, as I worked with parents of infants, I almost choked on my lunch one day to see a baby's bottle filled with Coke. Since that memorable day, I have met others who regularly purchase Pepsi for their tots and think nothing of it when they stock the fridge with Mt. Dew for school days. But there is one thing I know for sure: soda in no way benefits your baby, your child - or you!

According to the Nutrition Research Center, this is what happens to your body within one hour of drinking a can of soda:

- 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system, which is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake. You'd normally vomit from such an intake, but the phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.

- 20 minutes: Your blood sugar skyrockets. Your pancreas attempts to maximize insulin production in order to turn high levels of sugar into fat.

- 40 minutes: As your body finishes absorbing the caffeine, your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your liver pumps more sugar into the bloodstream. Adenosine receptors in your brain are blocked preventing you from feeling how tired you may actually be.

- 45 minutes: Your body increases dopamine production, causing you to feel pleasure and adding to the addictiveness of the beverage. This physical neuro response works the same way as it would if we were consuming heroin.

> 60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, which boosts your metabolism a bit further. High doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners compound this effect, increasing the urinary excretion of calcium. The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (You have to GO!) Your body will eliminate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was otherwise headed to your bones. And you will also flush out the sodium, electrolytes and water. Your body has eliminated the water that was in the soda, and in the process, it was infused with nutrients and minerals your body would have otherwise used to hydrate your system or build body cells, bones, teeth.

> 60 minutes: The sugar crash begins. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You start feeling like crap. Time to grab another?

137 comments:

and this doesn't even touch on the negative impact of the sweetener used in most soft drinks now, high fructose corn syrup. To make a long story short, high fructose corn syrup causes your body to deposit fat around your major organs (liver, kidneys, heart, etc.) and slowly chokes out their function. The alternative health website, www.mercola.com had a great article recently on the dangers of fructose.

yrs ago I drank coke...my doc said if you must than drink diet coke...so i did for yrs again,,,,than he told me no more diet the aspartame is not good for you so I changed to pepsi..just regular pepsi....he did say it's better than the diet if you must...Joanne

There is an article I once read about diet soda and the effects ranging from the chemicals turning into a formaldehyde like substance actually preserving you fat cells to the effects on your brain and memory. Stated some people have actually been misdiagnosed with demntia due to the effects of apartame. Scary stuff

I think it is neglect that people allow there children to drink any type of nutrionally lacking liquid like soda. People are poisoning their children and they have no accountability to stop it. It is ridiculous! I was persecuted by a doctor for not giving my child Tylenol and yet the same doctor said nothing to aprent allowing her 1 year old to drink a coke out of a bottle. What has happened to our medical profession???!!! This is why I don't trust them.

My parents gave me soda when I was 5 and I became so addicted to it. Hardly able to quit. :( I never give my children pop. They can stick to juice, water and milk. *hardly any juice either* I don't want them to become addicted to it!!

I don't drink sodas was not raised to drink themim not.saying once I'm a month I may drink one , really just one. But on the other had I do use splenda artificial sweetner in my coffee. What effects does this have ., if any? Now I drink about one to one and half cups coffee each day

I just wanted to point out that diet soda (or coke at least) doesn't contain sugar. It contains aspartame, which breaks down to create FORMALDEHYDE in the body (with it's own long list of super nasty consequences!) Are you sure they weren't studying the effects of regular soda?

Actually, the amount of aspertame/formaldehyde in a diet soda is nowhere near harmful. My dietician explained that the studies involving the effects of aspertame were so far away from daily dosing that they're pretty much a pile of crap. The researchers gave mice the amount a 250 pound man would get. Of course you'd see negative effects in that case! That would be like an average adult eating gallons of pure aspertame a day!

Artificial sweeteners are generally ok when eaten in moderation. Some have even been proven safe to consume during pregnancy.

As for fructose -- no one would be appalled if you gave your kid an apple, right? Well fructose is sugar that comes from fruit. It's the high fructose corn syrup that's the issue, not fructose. That's about as ridiculous as telling someone fruit is bad for you.

I'm not saying soda really benefits anyone, and the report in this blog is perfectly credible, but a lot of people will believe anything they read, especially if it's on the internet.

Aspartame can cause huge health problem especially with the heart beat. A friend of mine has to have surgery because of the damage aspartame has done to his heart muscle. Sugar of any kind will also cause inflammation in your body, so any soda is harmful Drink water that is much better for you.

Yeah, drink water without any way to check what is in the water. Plus becoming dependent on others from we know not where to supply water for you. Surface water and even well water has the possibility of being unsafe or even polluted. There has also been brought up that big business could and wants to corner the market on water and thus control the population ,because if you control the water you control the people. In Colorado a man was successfully prosecuted for collecting rain water. Let me say that again. The man was prosecuted for collecting rain water!!!!

Quite a few people have been misdiagnosed as having MS when in fact, they were drinking diet soda. Diet soda makes you hungrier as well and fat around the stomach has also been attributed to diet soda. The study I read stated that when the people who were misdiagnosed as having MS stopped drinking all diet soda, within weeks every symptom disappeared and they were living normal lives again.

There is a direct correlation between high fructose corn syrup and obesity. HFCS was used at the beginning of the 70s because it was much cheaper and more sweeter than regular sugar. It's in almost everything. The human liver does not process HFCS like it does regular sugar.

Fructose is found in fruit and has nothing to do with high fructose corn syrup and our livers can process it just fine. Nothing was said about fruit being bad for you.

I have MS and Lyme Disease. I gave up both a soda and coffee with fake sweetener addiction after being diagnosed four years ago. It is true that large doses of aspartame can and does cause MS symptoms, so if one were to remove that from the diet after many years I am sure those symptoms would improve. There are even preliminary studies that shows that aspartame is so toxic, that it can create the brain lesions that occur in MS. I don't think at that point there would be any way to come back from that, but it would still be important to stop further damage to keep quality of life. I suffer from these symptoms, dizziness, numbness, memory loss, chronic fatigue, and many others. I changed my life just in time to, in my opinion, save my life. Soda helps no one. It is liquid candy. It is scary to me that it is so normalized in our society. Going out to eat, it is what most people drink, always. Most Americans are chronically dehydrated. We need water! And always choose real, raw sugar or honey to sweeten food or beverages. This girl is healthier now with two major illnesses because of giving up bad chemicals that I used to eat and drink, several times a day. Love yourself!

As far as caffeine effects, yes, but I seriously doubt one puts that much sugar in their coffee. I've recently started taking a second cup of coffee rather than a coke b/c of the lesser amount of sugar intake.

What coffee may do tho is give you depression and cause you stress, which is a big negative side of it that lot of people dont care to pay for. When you tell a coffee addict to quit it they will answer you exactly as a smoker does. Some habits are legal and common but so damaging and harmful.

I found a new love: Mio! I just grab some cold water from the fridge into my water bottle and add a small squirt of Mio energy (50mg of caff in 1tsp and I use about 1 tsp in about 24oz of water) its enough to get me up in the morning without all that extra sugar. Its cal free but it has a small amount of artificial sweetener but doesn't taste like it at all. I HATE diet soda or "sugar free" products because of the aspertain after taste. There is also Mio original with no caff. There are some great flavors like peach tea, pomegranate etc...

Try sparkling water with NO...repeat.....NO sweeteners. Idon't know where you are but in SW Washington I buy Talking Rain which has natural fruit flavors (just a touch) and no sweeteners. I started drinking this during my first pregnancy so that I wouldn't drink soda. My kids like it also....I introduced it to them when they were little before they even had soda so they got used to it:). Its very refreshing esp in the summer!

To the first anon response -- 'just juice' has fructose in it. Fruit is naturally sweetened with fructose. Even if it says "un sweetened 100% juice," it has natural sugars in it, which in the case of fruit is fructose.

Remember: sugar provides energy. Every carbohydrate we eat for energy turns into glucose in your system. The key is to not overindulge. But cutting it out completely is just as harmful (and will harm you a lot faster than an over abundance).

Drinking or having your kids drink the fruit water or mio or anything that sweetens water, no matter how small, is still a bad habit to start. Not just for the sugar and calorie intake. It develops a habit. A child will start essentially "needing" and craving sweets. Associating thirst with wanting sweets. Water is best. It is what your body is craving and needs. If you start young, your children will enjoy water and actually want nothing other than water.

and bottled water has potassium chloride in it, which is the third drug used for lethal injection. there isn't anything out there that doesn't have some chemical in it that could harm our bodies. omg we are all going to die!!!

my son has a fructose intolerance, you cannot have juice without having fructose, nor is there any other kind of sweetener that does not have fructose with the exception of birch sugar and possibly maple sugar, so this means honey, agave, stevia, all sugar alcohols, all types of white refined sugar and also brown sugar...it is all from fructose. HFCS is terrible but honestly they all are. FWIW I allow my son occasional honey and maple syrup because they are fairly unrefined products, there is no healthy pop replacement...bubbly water with juice is not any better if you are trying to avoid fructose

We cut soda out from our diet a long time ago...Occasionally I'll have a pepsi as a treat, but it's pretty rare. We've sworn off of high fructose corn syrup and aspartame... Unfortunately my family members (parents & siblings) don't care to hear how horrible these substances are. It's horrible to think that our culture embraces ingesting such chemicals as normal. We were not created to eat/drink such things.

where do you shop for you food? and if you just happen to be a farmer/rancher where do you get your feed? dont you think that maybe you do put some of these chemical s in your body? if you don't, then you should really look into whats really in food

for those that decide the diet drinks are ok, aspartame, from what I have read and heard is a PSYCHOTROPIC DRUG. Meaning it tricks your brain chemically (cause its a drug) into thinking something is sweet.As such, it will still cause your body to crave sweets/sugars/carbs.

Here's something to consider: since the bones actually provide 700mg of Calcium to the digestive system each day when the soda leaches the minerals out the bones must replace that and are depleted unnecessarily. It isn't only the Calcium that you've ingested that is lost. Is it any wonder that our youth have the bones of 80 year olds?

I am surprised that there are no comments on the adverse affects on teeth. Both regular AND diet soda are highly acidic and erode the enamel of your teeth. Dentistis even have a term for it called "Mountain Dew Mouth" due to teens drinking it large quantities for the caffeine and sugar.

Our children never new what soda pop was until they started school and I managed to keep it away from them until a neighbor gave them some when they were 5 and 8. We never kept it in the house. As adults now one doesn't drink it at all because he likes to stay in shape for wrestling and the other just doesn't buy it because she is a starving graduate student and recognizes that money spent on pop is spent on pop is a waste.

a note on MTN DEW MOUTH... all through high school I drank mtn dew.. lost 6 molars for it, my teeth are falling apart every time I get pregnant, and 1 dentist even told me I needed full dentures.. I am 25 years old! I have 2 small children, NO SODA ALLOWED for my kids. Occasionally, my oldest may have a small amount of Sprite if he is thirsty and there is no other option! I am just thankful I have found a dentist that said I can save the rest of my original teeth!

That is great that you have made changes for your kids!! Well done... I urge you (gently) to take it one step further though and say no to soda at any time. Water is always available and is all they need. Well done again... :-)

My boss is dentist and drinks Mt. Dew. Rinse your mouth and you will be fine. The sugar attacks your teeth for 20 mins after each sip, so drink it fast, then balance the PH level by drinking water or brushing your teeth. As for the body, everything in MODERATION! My Grandma lived to 91 and she drank pop here and there as well. She did not give it up.

I'm confused about what circumstances offer no alternative to Sprite. There's generally always water. I do allow my kids soda at a birthday party or occasionally out, so I am not demonizing it to that degree, just thought that was an odd statement. I'm sorry you learned through such a hard lesson!

not to forget for breastfeeding mothers that not only does the baby get all of these effects too but that increased levels of Dopamine mean decreased levels of Prolactin...which means decreased milk supply!

Studies indicate folks who had more than 500-600 mg of caffeine per day had 70 PERCENT more estrogen. I quit cold turkey when I realized my Diet Coke habit was feeding my killer PMS. Excess estrogen is also linked to heart attacks, various cancers, etc.

Why this stuff a.) isn't regulated, b.) is in almost everything, I'll never know.

Politicians create the subsidies and agree to poison the population because of corporate greed and to reduce the population to zombies. The FDA is nothing more that a "yes man" to the greedy and has no concern for the health of people.

I believe that this disturbing trends originated as the criminals who used slaves over a hundred years ago had to replace that with another horror, and sugar was their main weapon of mass health destruction.

Coffee at least has antioxidants but sugar and high fructose corn syrup are destroying the lives of our children. It is a little like the Taliban marketing opium to the world.

Remember it's not just soda that's the problem. I see some of you have written about teeth or bone problems being related to soda specifically. Yes, the combination of sugar and caffeine and other chemicals are not good, but if you eat/drink sugar in anything (or on it's own of course), it will make your blood acidic and your bodies minerals will go towards counteracting the negative effects of sugar that would otherwise be used to maintain your health (as people here have already explained). Sugar gives nothing of value and takes away a lot.

The whole reason that your teeth are so affected by sugar is because your teeth are an extension of your bones, and which therefore become problematic when your body is deficient in minerals.

Modern Western science/medicine unfortunately continues to separate body systems. If you really want to understand what health and disease are in a more useful and comprehensive way, then you're much better off learning something about Oriental medicine. Buy a good acupuncture book written for the layman that explains the theory. It's easy to grasp and makes a lot of sense about things that Western medicine is still struggling to understand.

I also find macrobiotics incredibly accurate, both in theory and practice.

This is indeed great info, but I hated reading it -- since becoming pregnant, I will occasionally (once or twice a week) have a soda because it helps to settle my stomach, and feels like a nice change of pace from the gallons of water I need to drink. I guess I was equating it with the "one cup of coffee a day is ok while pregnant" advice (incidentally, I've only had decaf since being pregnant).

I NEVER craved soda before being pregnant, and what a time to start...

Any advice on a substitute? I sometimes buy the "natural" soda from our local food co-op. Wonder it it really makes a difference?

Having a soda (especially 'clear' or flat soda like Sprite) a few times a week to calm your stomach while pregnant is not going to do damage to your system or the baby's. Occasional use is different than if you were drinking 4 Mt. Dew's a day.

Great article. I have been teaching people about how bad soda is for years. Most people don't have a clue of the effects it has on the body.On top of all the soda they drink that leaches calcium out of their bones they don't eat adequate amounts of vegetables and they think they are getting calcium from milk. Funny how we are the #1 consumer of dairy in the world but we have the highest rate of osteoporosis! I commend you for you trying to educate the masses :)

My dd is 2.5 and doesn't drink soda - just water, milk, and my milk and maybe at d/c juice (I wish I could be stronger to stop this). I grew up drinking soda, my parents had no understanding of nutrition, so at dinner we drank soda - there was ALWAYS soda in the house. When I moved out on my own, I realized I didn't like it very much and it was an extra expense to buy and to order when eating out. My only caveat is when my stomach hurts so bad from the flu or a virus, I must have Canada Dry Ginger Ale!

It makes me so terribly sad to see toddlers with soda cans, cups or soda in their sippy cups. I still don't know how I will handle it when and if my daughter requests soda. I don't want it to be something she sneaks out to drink. I had friends like that who would eat candy bars all day in school or put on 5 lbs of make-up in the bathroom when they got to school, just to clean it off at the end of the day?!

Another interesting thing, at 38-I have had about 3 cavities, one of my sister's (who doesn't drink soda since she moved out) has 1 cavity and my sister and mom who are heavy soda drinkers are cavity and root canal ridden.

When will you post the detrimental effects of fruit juice and all non-organic foods and beverages which are filled with carcinogenic pesticides? Soda is bad, but most parents have no idea that their kids are perpetually poisoned by conventional foods grown and processed in this country.

To the pregnant mama who drinks a few sodas- I suggest making soda from water kefir. http://www.culturesforhealth.com/Water-Kefir-Grains-p10.html You can also make lacto-fermented sodas from the book, Nourishing Traditions (westonaprice.org).Not only are they a better replacement, but you might as well get some probiotics out of your "soda" drinking. Hope that helps.

very interesting article indeed. As a child in a large lower-middle income family we didn't drink soda for economical reasons as well as health. Yes we were allowed to have it occassionally and sometimes at home on pizza-night or for parties ect. I rarely drink it now more because I don't think it is normal to put carbonation into my body and don't like how it feels. As with any "junk-food" that I do enjoy, thankfully I was raised to consume in moderation, and we were also taught about the bad effects of overindulgence of these foods. More importantly, we were taught how to be kind and considerate of others who for whatever reason were not able to consume these products as well. My parents did a pretty good job and I never had much of a problem having crackers with peanutbutter or cheese or an apple or homemade lemonade or just water if a friend was restricted to the same. (Unfortunately alcohol was not present in our home so no good behavioral lessons were learned about that until later in life and then I learned the hard way, but I think that is a different blog )

I am happy and proud to say that I have drastically cut down on the amount of soda I drink....I used to drink it like it was going out of style! Now, I still drink it, but not even close to how I used to....I am more apt to drink water, or green smoothie, or coconut milk or tea....

My 3.5 year old son has only had the sips of my soda that he took when I wasn't looking....but he knows he isn't supposed to have it...and I try not to drink it in front of him! LOLHe LOVES his milk and water, and for that I am grateful! :)

Kombucha is a wonderful natural substitute for soda, naturally carbonated, it tastes like a delicious cross between soda and a light wine (although .05 or less alcohol content, the same as juice!). Whether purchased from the health food store or made at home, it is delicious and oh so good for you!

been off soda since Oct. I did it because of my daughter's eczema(sugar & artificial sweetners bad for eczema). It was hard but I feel so good, my moods have improved w/out the sugar in my system. Thanks for this post, it helps to be reminded about why u make the choices u do

PS...if you want to try kombucha as a healthy alternative to soda and are buying it, this is the brand I like best - grape and strawberry are a good place to start. You can find it at Whole Foods and pretty much any health food stores and even some grocery stores these days. Yum! (So much energy too and makes me feel SO good!)

To the anonymous pregnant woman who drinks soda occasionally, try lactofermented drinks like water kefir (can be flavored with fruit, like a lactofermented lemonade or berry fizz), or lactofermented ginger ale or root beer. (I bet that ginger would settle your stomach!) Kombucha is sweet and fizzy too, but I've recently learned that it's SO detoxifying, it's not recommended for nursing moms. Google for recipes. :)

I know how you feel about wanting the carbonation! With my first pregnancy, I had a local supply of real ginger ale and used that during the first trimester. It doesn't take a lot to feel better...just a couple swigs when you feel the nausea.

But this time around I could not find any true ginger ale...it was all flavored, food coloring added, sugary stuff.

So I turned to Izze fruit drinks. I also think they are detrimental, but less so than soda. Just a few sips is really helpful.

I grew up in a no-soda household. We were allowed to have soda one time a year: at our 4th of July BBQ. We each got a can of it.

I've had more as a teen/young adult, but even then I was always suspicious of the sugar content, chemicals and food coloring. So I never really got into the habit.

Since marrying DH, our household has been a "no-soda" environment. Although I must admit, sadly, lol, that I gave DD a taste of soda one time at a party. For the fun of seeing her squishy face. *sigh*

What about kool-aid and juice? They have the same sugar as soda and parents are more eager to give them to their kids than soda--like carbonation is bad or something? I wasn't allowed soda as a kid, but I drank juice like there was no tomorrow--and still do. My mom is a health nut.

Soda pop is called "soft drink" for a reason: your bones WILL become soft. In the old days, ladies would add some vinegar to the stock pot when cooking down bones for broth. The acidic vinegar leached out the calcium and minerals, making a super rich stock for soups. (See Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon or the Weston A. Price Organization for more info on how people ate when the country was healthy) What does that say about drinking a can of acidic liquid daily?

Diet or low sugar sodas are just as bad if not worse because your taste buds send a signal to your brain telling the body sugar is on the way... the body gets into gear to start metablizing and then finds out there is not sugar afterall... you have now depleated some energy in preparation for the process and your body then is still left wanting sugar... hence diet soda drinkers tend to drink 2-3x more soda then those that drink regular soda, not to metion the devistation that artifical sweeteners do to the good bacteria in the intestines! Much better just to grab a glass of water!

STATS wrote a good response to a similar story in which two ABC News reporters participated in an "'experiment' designed to show the malevolent effects of drinking soda on blood sugar levels and the human body": http://stats.org/stories/2010/abc_discovers_digestion_may19_10.html

I offered to get my 1.5 yr old niece a cup of watered down juice (3/4 water 1/4 juice), and my SIL said her kids (5 of them) ONLY drink COKE! I was HORRIFIED by that. She proceeded to put coke into a bottle for her daughter. My daughter, at the time was about 6 months old. She didn't have her first sip of soda (Sprite) until she was 2. I rarely give my kids soda. They drink flavored water if they want a different taste other than plain water. I gotta say, though, while reading this I'm drinking Coke. lol But at least I'm drinking it educated on the effects of it.

...then there's the origin of the sweetener. If HFCS, your chances are 98% that HFCS came from genetically modified corn. If it is sweetened with sugar, odds are 60% that the sugar was genetically modified. We don't know what possible affect genetic modification will have on humans because the companies providing genetically modified seeds do not allow outside testing for safety.

I am so glad you mentioned this! There are many reasons I stay away from HFCS (or anything originating from corn) if it's not organic because of this reason alone. We have to think beyond what's on the label! Where did it come from? How was it made? Is it even real?

zevia is a much safer alernative to soda. www.zevia.com It's made with stevia as a sweetener and none of the junk in it. the guy wanted to make a healthy alternative for his wife, who was a diet pop junkie.

Did you know you can make your own homemade sodas? The method outlines by LearningHerbs.com is called lactofermentation. This method captures the good stuff from the component parts of the soda by employing those helpful bacteria they always talk about in yogurt commercials on TV.

I agree about the dangers of regular and diet sodas. I used to have a terrible Diet Pepsi addiction in my twenties and still occasionally indulge, but I have gotten MUCH better because I know that it's not good for me. However, like others, I do still crave it at times. I now drink a brand called Zevia, which is sweetened with natural, herbal stevia sweetener versus high fructose corn syrup, sugar or artificial sweeteners. I still don't consider it a "healthy" alternative, because I'm still drinking carbonated beverages. But it's certainly better than the mainstream products on the market.

Zevia is the ONLY soda i drink. the rootbeer one tastes BETTER than regular rootbeer. also, i recommend NEVER drinking diet soda. Many people have strong allergies to the artificial sweeteners, which have been known to cause BLINDNESS.Thanx for the postKimra DiggsThe Progressive Mamahumanitarianopp.com

In reality, sugar in the United States is artificially expensive. We limit the amount of surgar that we import and subsidize beat sugar and corn sugar as a replacement for foreign sugar. Despite the subsidies, we pay an average of 5 cents more per candy bar and can of soda than we would if we eliminated the subsidies and allowed cheaper foreign sugar to come into the American mnarket.

I have no read all the questions/comments. So if someone could let me know is there a site that tells you what happens after the hour? You know if you stop drinking soda? I am a mt dew drinker, I have only given my child soda twice, both times were flat ginger ale because she would not stop vomiting and I wanted to try something (remember when we were young and we got it?lol). I am just kind of curious on the effects of stopping and how that works. As a whole for children and adults

I second the poster who spoke to using "real" ginger ale for pregnancy and sickness. Canada Dry or any other brand really doesn't have actual amounts of ginger in it and THAT is what truly settles you stomach. You can buy real ginger ale at most health food stores and a lot more grocery stores are carrying it in the natural foods section. Otherwise, make a cup of ginger tea if you're nauseous- you can control the amount of sugar and there's no carbonation.

I've been wanting root beer this pregnancy so I buy expensive super yummy "real" root bear with true flavors in it (not artificially flavored) and I drink it 1-2 times a week for special things like the one tv show my husband and I watch or going to a party at a friend's house. It's made with real sugar and actually tastes good. It's amazing the flavor of something when it's not just artificial and made with HFCS.-Liesel

Aspartame from diet coke is far safer then then sugar from non-diet drinks. A 165 pound person can drink 21 cans of diet drinks to reach there expected aspartame daily content. I would not advise this of course because you should not eat anything in as much excess.

As an avid Diet Coke drinker, I was shocked,an scared when I read the harmful effects that drinking this causes,I have several health problems,some may have been from drinking sodas all my life,I will definitley think twice before buying Diet Coke next time at the grocery. thanks for the info.I plan to share with FB friends

I have a one year old and was recently asked by a friend "does she like katsup?" to which I replied "I don't know, she has never had it." My friend was shocked....probably as shocked as I was to know she gives her not even 2 year old fried chicken fingers, cookies, and many other high sugar/high fat foods.

Wake Up America! We are being poisoned at an alarming rate! Read the ingredients of what you are putting in your mouth and especially the mouths of the children! Every diligent effort is needed to maintain health in this extremely toxic world! If you shop in a regular grocery store, you are probably eating a thousand different chemicals that are accumulating in your body and when they reach the breaking point....BHAM! YOU are now another statistic with cancer or some other horrendous disease....one in two people will get cancer in their life time. 50 years ago it was one in 50 people. WAKE UP!!!

When I was 13 years old, a chiropractic x-ray discovered a massive tumor in the bone in my right arm. After visiting a specialist in Dallas, we found that the tumor was a huge cyst that had consumed the entire bone, and the outer edges of the bone were about the consistency and width of egg shells. I attribute it to the extreme availablility of soda and aspartame in my household growing up. Never once do I remember being given a glass of water. It was always Dr. Pepper all day followed by tea in the evenings sweetened with the little pink packets.

PLEASE!!! do not give your children soda - especially at this crucial time in bone development. Give them a good,healthy foundation to live their lives upon.

Most citrus soft drinks contain brominated vegetable oil, which is a flame retardant. It is used to make the citrus flavor more evenly distributed. BVO is actually banned in Japan and much of Europe, although the FDA says it is safe based on studies done decades ago. Mountain Dew, Squirt, among others contain the chemical. At least you won't catch fire I guess!

Should you avoid it because it causes tumors? Not as much as your cell phone.

It's all about moderation. If you want to live healthy, go for it. But take a step back and realize that not everyone can afford to drink Izze every day, and not everyone is going to stop drinking soda all at once because you said it was bad for them.

If you want the health problems to stop, then fund education in your community. Teach the children about science, how to use critical thinking, and how to function as part of a group instead of thinking only about themselves.

We live in a selfish, self-absorbed culture who cares more about what the Kardashian's are doing instead of how their own decisions affect themselves or those around them.

I have a question pertaining to the The caffeine’s diuretic properties portion of the article. Is caffeine a culprit to flushing the nutrients you state in your article? and not the soda? I read this and the sugar is concerning, but if the caffeine is flushing the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was otherwise heading to our bones... That seems more concerning considering, yes for children- but adults as well.

Hmmm...I don't think soda is that addictive in my opinion of even having an addictive personality. I'm a recovering heroin addict, and I drink soda here and there, but I for sure can stop myself. Soda isn't good for you. We all know, it's common sense. So, stop drinking the crap! There was a thing on Coke I believe that the coloring for the dark pop causes cancer. Doesn't surprise me any. Drinks, anything from the U.S. I think is horrible, unless it comes from a market. So yup. Next time you go to the store, and look at the ingredients and if you don't even know what one of the ingredients are, or you cannot even pronounce, well it's probably not good for human consumption. Our food I think will eventually kill us. You hear about cancer and all that good stuff more now, than natural causes.

I drink on average 3 Mexican glass bottle cokes a day, I get blood drawn bi weekly, I take a multivitamin daily, my calcium,magnesium, and zinc levels have never depleted. I do eat lots of veggies and low fat or lean food, cokes are my weakness, addicted for sure.. But I haunt had a problem. Everyone's body is different, and I do know to much sugar is bad for you, I have to spread my drinks far apart. The article was very interesting, hope it helps some, I think everything in moderation is ok, there are so many other things that are out there, that are bad for us as well....

So how would someone who has drank at least a 12-pack a day or more for the last 20+ years get off the soda safely? From what I've read, I am concerned about having serious physical problems going cold turkey from it. I don't have a problem with the caffeine, I eliminated it long ago. Any suggestions anyone?

Getting off sugar is like getting off any other addiction. Good for you for wanting to! A high protein diet that's high in complex carbs will help keep your blood sugar up, gradually cutting down will be easier for you mentally. Substituting a different treat can be very helpful--have a piece of fruit instead (it's still sweat but good for you). You'll have withdrawals and cravings for awhile but if you can fight them they will go away with time. Good luck!

I would love the description of what happens when someone eats an apple. Fruit sugar (fructose) is way more aggressive than sucrose (glucose-fructose dimer that we use in our everyday life). Eating 1 apple is similar to eating 23 grams of sugar (56% of your daily sugar need!) http://www.sugarstacks.com/fruits.htm

So should we say "stop eating fruits" too? So easy to blame soda. What you eat does not matter,What matters is how much you eat.

Actually, fructose, in it's natural state (found in fruits, among other things) is better because it's something your body can recognize and easily digest. When you create something from genetically modified corn (which isn't even real corn, in my opinion) and add chemicals then call it high fructose corn syrup... well, it's not just fructose anymore. It's been altered, added to, changed, and recreated. It's packed full of foreign, harmful substances that our bodies can't digest or handle.

Of course, I'm not saying go out and eat all the organic fruit you want. Even natural sugar will make you gain weight. But you have to look beyond to how it's made and where it originated. Just food for thought. :)

Great post - thanks for sharing! Water's the best beverage ever and doesn't cause all those problems! Children are the future - thanks for educating to help them get a better start by stopping the pop! Pam at http://savinghissparrows.blogspot.com/

Just want to clarify... it is NOT sugar that is the problem. there is no sugar in cola. It is high fructose corn syrup - man-made sweetener that does even more damage to the body... diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, vision, and on and on.

This is for American sodas; European ones are much healthier, same with candy. I've had American friends visit me here in Ireland and be shocked because candy such as Skittles wasn't as sweet, and contained fruit juice. An American sweet shop opened near me recently, I have to carefully read all ingredient labels as I have a food allergy, and I found looking at everything kind of bizzare as everything was so brightly coloured and contained zero natural or recognisable ingredients.

I'm drinking a can of soda right now and it contains no added sugar, no artificial colours or flavours. It's carbonated water, 5% orange juice along with aspartame, acesulfame k, potassium sorbate, ascorbic acid, glyclerol and beta-carotene. As far as I'm aware, the only ones that even have a query re healthiness are aspartame & acesulfame k. High fructose corn syrup is unheard of over here, and I've never seen anything containing formaldehyde.

Great article! I would like to also add that the insulin spike created by the sugar makes cells of our body progressively less and less responsive to insulin, thus insulin resistant (and that's a very bad thing!). I have some pretty detailed information about insulin resistance on my website http://www.healthfromscratch.com/insulin-resistance.html

Thank you for passing on the information from the Nutrition Research Center which appears to be credible. However, I am astounded by the amount of misinformation in the comments! Please, people, get your health and nutrition information from reputable organizations and sources, and when passing on things you have learned, remember to cite the source so others can do the same.